Melissa Simpson

Experience

• 

  University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria

  Jan 2011 - May 2018

  Thesis: Mating and genomics of the plant fungal pathogen, Ceratocystis fimbriata.Activities and societies: Social Club, Undergraduate Mentor. Performed experiments and analyses to provide data for Professors to aid their research. Conducted group and one-on-one tutoring sessions for undergraduate biological science subjects to help students engage active learning and critical thinking skills. Assisted with invigilation and marking of tests and exams. Mentored undergraduate students in molecular techniques, basic data analysis, and guided them through mini projects. Guided school students through mini-projects jointly designed and run with another post-graduate student in my research group.

  • Doctoral Student

    Mar 2012 - May 2018

  • Research Assistant

    Jan 2010 - Dec 2015

  • Tutor

    Jul 2009 - Jun 2015

  • Research Mentor

    Jan 2011 - Dec 2014
• 

  Pearson Institute of Higher Education

  Jul 2012 - Jun 2013

  Lecturer

  Prepared and delivered undergraduate lectures, and practical and tutorial sessions for "Science Skills" and "Medical Microbiology and Immunology", to 2nd and 3rd year students.Prepared and ran the practical and tutorial sessions for these subjects. Student knowledge was assessed through various quizzes, tests and exams that I created and marked.

• 

  University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria

  Oct 2018 - Sept 2019

  Postdoctoral Fellow

  Performed analyses on the data generated during my PhD and prepared manuscripts.

• 

  University of Nottingham

  Sept 2019 - now

  • Collaborative Research and Development Officer

    Sept 2023 - now

  • Research Fellow

    Sept 2019 - Aug 2023